Thomas chambers



uiten `tarts @anni @ffice THGMAS CHAMBERS, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

Letters Patent No. 72,165, elated December I7. 186i'.

IMPROVEMENT IN HYDRAULIC ELEVA'IORS.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONGERN:

Bc it known that I, THOMAS CHAMBERS, ot' thc city and county of St. Louis, and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Hydraulic El'evators;" and I do hereby declare that the-following` is a full and clear description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters o` reference marked thereon.

The nature of this invention consists in the application to an ordinary elevatorz ,or .dumb-waiter ot' a series of' water-tightchambers and force-pumps, the whole being connected with' such pipes, valves, and'levers, as may be necessary to render the whole apparatus complete.

The operation of the elevator is such that, by a slight motion of the lever of a pump, a suicient amount of water or other iluid may be thrown into the proper chamber to cause the car of the elevator to ascend or descend at pleasure. There are also connected with this elevator various other improvements, such, for instance,v

v as the indicator, whichshows to which story the car may have arrived, either on its upward or downward trip.

A regulating-brake isalso applied tothe car, to check or stop its motion at any point. Other improvements on this machine will more fully appear in the following description. A

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my improved dumbLwaiter" or elevator," I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

Figure 1, of the drawings, is a. front elevation of the improved apparatus.

Figure 2 is a sectional side elevation of it.

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional elevation.

Figure 4 is a. top plan.

AA is the lower floor, to which the elevator extends, and A1 are the walls or casings of the elevator. B is the car or dumb-waiter proper, and Bl :is a counterpoising-weight chamber, connected therewith by a cord or rope, C, 'which passes up over the wheel C1. The chambers b and are water-tight compartments, which will be used as hereinafter more fully explained.V

Below the floor A there is a cistcrn or reservoir, A2; and below or connected with this cistern is a forcepump, D; and from this force-pump there are two pipes, Dhand D2, extending upward to near the top of the casing Al, the upper end of the pipe D1 being turned downward,l and arranged so as to discharge into the cham` ber b, and the upper end of the p'ipe D, in like manner, arranged to discharge into the chamber b1. The pump D maybe asingle or double-acting one, but the double-acting variety is preferred; and, if it is used, the lever D3, as represented in the drawings, will be the most convenient arrangement of it. This lever has a fulcrum, at (Z, and two piston-rods, all, for the punip-plungers, while outside of Athe casing A1 are the handles, ci?, for working the pump. Supposing the car B to bc at the bottom of the ways, and the tank Bx at the top of its ways, then, by working the pump, having previously arranged the valves (not shown) so as'to throw the water up through the pipe D2, water will be discharged into the chamber bl until itlwill counter-poise the weight of the car B, and cause it to ascend with its load to the story to which it is desired to elevate it, where it can be stopped by the application of the brake L to the periphery of the wheel C. The bra-ke L is actuated by the lever L', which is placed in a convenient position for the operator to place his foot upon it and press it down.

The said lever and brake are connected together by the rod or cord Z.

For convenience in operating this elevator, thc shaft G2, on which the wheel C is placed, extends a little outside of the casing A1, whereit receives a baud-wheel, c; an/d from this bund-wheel a cord or band, el, extends downward to and around the band-wheel c, which latter .wheel is located where the operator can easily see it. A finger, c3, attached to the cord c, points to the gures on an index-board, ci, in the operatorsroom, corresponding with thc number of tho tloor at which the car may have arrived; and thus the operator may constantly be advised as to the location of the car, and may control its motions accordinglyr When either of the chambers, bor b1, arrives at thebottom, its contents may be discharged into the tank or cistcrn A by opening` the valve 53. This valve is to be operated by the crank-rods b", the lower ends ofl which are connected with levers, (not shown,) the said levers being Vso arranged as to open the aforesaid valves when the said cranks are turned in the proper direction.

v To insure the safety of this elevator, Lem'ploy an auxiliary cord, C, to connect the two tanks together; but the wheel C4, over which it passes at the top, is so much smallervthan the wheel Cl as to render the working ofthe machine much harder when this auxiliary arrangement is employed than when the proper'rope is in place. This will compel the use of the larger wheel and its rope, and thus insure its repair'in case of its being broken or deranged, and thus prevent serious accident to those employed about the elevator by constantly having two ropes to depend upon. The -cord or rope C3 should be a little slacker than the other one, when both are in place, so as not to interfere with the proper working of the elevator when it is in perfect repair.

The uid used in this elevator or dumb-waiter may bc.'simply water, when there is no danger of freezing; or, if it be desirable to do so, some anti-freezing liquid may be employed. In eitherV caso it will be judicious to have a draw-oil` faucet, a, in the tank or cistern A2.

It is especially desirable, in many places, to have an elevator or dumb-waiter so arranged as tobe operated from one single station; and, as this elevator i-s otherwise operated from the lower loor,l propose to arrange the car so it may be unloaded from the same place. The shelf Z1, on which the articles to be hoisted are placed, is set at an angle slightly inclining toward the front of the case; and it is mounted on rollers, b, and held in place, from rolling forward, by the spring-catch 117. v

A When the car shall have arrived at the place where it is to be unloaded, the operator at the bottom of the establishment .will pull on the cord bg, and thereby release the spring-catch above referred to, and thus allow the shelf b5 to roll forward and discharge itself, after which it may be again drawn back into its former position by pulling the cord b9, when the spring-catch will again hold it in place.

To render the workings of this machine easy and noiseless, the shaft C2 should have hearings on antfriction rollers, as seen at Cin fig-4, and have rollers on the corners of the two tanks, as seen at B2. 'f hese rollers should be made of cork, so as to render their working noiseless. These wheels should be banded with brass or leather.

The foregoing description of elevator may be better adapted to dwelling-houses by the use of only 'one pump and water-tank, without any `tank on the hoisting-car, as is herein shown and described;

Having described my invention, what I claim, is

1. The reservoir A2, the car B, the chamber Bl, the pump D, and the pipes D and D2, when combined and arranged as described'and set forth. I

2i The indicator' c c1 c2 c3 c4, when arranged in relation to thedumb-waiter, as described.

3. The brake-attachment L ZL', when constructed and arranged in relation to the elevator, as described and set forth.

4. The self-tipping and unloading shelf 65, when combined with the elevating-car, as described and set forth.

THOMAS CHAMBERS.

Witnesses:

M. RANDOLPH, S. M. RANDOLPH." 

